Earnings for personnel officers were highest in England, compared to Scotland and Northern Ireland. The pay gap between personnel officers in London and Northern Ireland has increased by 13% since 2002, according to the latest reward survey, of over 6,500 HR professionals, from the Chartered Institute of Personnel and DevelopmentPersonnel Officers in London now earn 29,087 pounds, 11% above the national average, whereas their counterparts in Northern Ireland, at 23,838 pounds, are the lowest paid in the UK.

Across the UK, personnel directors in the private sector are paid an average of 80,000 pounds. The average for the public sector is 70,000 pounds and for the voluntary sector 60,000 pounds. The gap is similar at senior manager level where private sector employees earn up to 7% above the all sector average compared with a lag of 11% in the voluntary sector.

Despite earning the most, personnel officers based in London report the lowest levels of satisfaction compared to those working in other regions. Just 37% of personnel officers based in London rate their job satisfaction as good or excellent and 15% rate it as poor/bad.